Catalytic Asymmetric Transformations Research Articles

From gem‐Dichlorocyclobutenones to Cyclobutenols: Unveiling a Ruthenium‐Catalyzed Allylic Reduction‐Asymmetric Transfer Hydrogenation Cascade

AbstractCyclobutenones constitute an appealing class of substrates in catalytic asymmetric transformations leading to diversely substituted enantioenriched four‐membered carbocycles, which are eliciting a growing interest in medicinal chemistry. Whilst several synthetically useful enantioselective conjugate addition reactions have been reported, the catalytic enantioselective reduction of the carbonyl group of simple cyclobutenones remains an elusive transformation. Herein, we disclose the discovery of a novel allylic reduction‐asymmetric transfer hydrogenation cascade, catalyzed by a Noyori‐Ikariya ruthenium complex, from readily available gem‐dichlorocyclobutenones, leading to 2‐chlorocyclobutenols with high optical purities, which can be engaged in postfunctionalization reactions enabling access to substituted four‐membered rings.

P-Stereogenic Phosphorus Ligands in Asymmetric Catalysis.

Chiral phosphorus ligands play a crucial role in asymmetric catalysis for the efficient synthesis of useful optically active compounds. They are largely categorized into two classes: backbone chirality ligands and P-stereogenic phosphorus ligands. Most of the reported ligands belong to the former class. Privileged ones such as BINAP and DuPhos are frequently employed in a wide range of catalytic asymmetric transformations. In contrast, the latter class of P-stereogenic phosphorus ligands has remained a small family for many years mainly because of their synthetic difficulty. The late 1990s saw the emergence of novel P-stereogenic phosphorus ligands with their superior enantioinduction ability in Rh-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation reactions. Since then, numerous P-stereogenic phosphorus ligands have been synthesized and used in catalytic asymmetric reactions. This Review summarizes P-stereogenic phosphorus ligands reported thus far, including their stereochemical and electronic properties that afford high to excellent enantioselectivities. Examples of reactions that use this class of ligands are described together with their applications in the construction of key intermediates for the synthesis of optically active natural products and therapeutic agents. The literature covered dates back to 1968 up until December 2023, centering on studies published in the late 1990s and later years.

1,2-trans-Diaminocyclohexane (DACH) in Asymmetric Catalysis: Nearing Fifty Years of Faithful Service and Counting

AbstractThis review highlights the use of DACH as a versatile ligand in catalytic asymmetric transformations providing mechanistic rationales and relevant comments presented in chronological order for each of the 21 reaction types with references up to December 25, 2023. Intended to be as practically comprehensive as possible, this review assembles useful examples of using DACH as a ligand in organocatalytic or as metal complexes in asymmetric transformations. The resulting enantiomerically enriched, if not pure, chiral non-racemic small molecules are of great utility as value added intermediates in the total synthesis of natural products, in the design and synthesis of medicinally important compounds, and in other areas in organic and bioorganic chemistry where chirality plays a role. The graphic image depicts Spartacus with his arms folded in the same sense of chirality as (R,R)-DACH.1 Introduction2 DACH: A Brief Historical Narrative3 Catalytic Asymmetric Hydrogenation of Alkenes4 Catalytic Asymmetric Dihydroxylation of Alkenes5 Catalytic Asymmetric Sulfoxidation and Sulfimidation6 Catalytic Asymmetric 1,4-Conjugate Addition6.1 Using Jacobsen’s DACH Metal–salen Complexes as Catalysts6.2 Using Takemoto’s Bifunctional H-Bonding DACH Thiourea Organocatalyst6.3 Using DACH Ni(II) Complexes as Catalysts6.4 Using DACH H-Bonding Catalysis7 Catalytic Asymmetric Epoxidation of Alkenes8 Catalytic Asymmetric Claisen Rearrangement9 Catalytic Asymmetric 1,2-Nucleophilic Addition to Carbonyl Compounds9.1 Catalytic Asymmetric Addition of Dialkylzinc to Aldehydes and Ketones9.2 Catalytic Asymmetric Alkynylation of Aldehydes and Ketones9.3 Catalytic Asymmetric Addition of Cyanide to Aldehydes and Ketones10 Catalytic Asymmetric Allylic Alkylation11 Catalytic Asymmetric Cyclopropanation of Alkenes12 Catalytic Asymmetric Cycloaddition Reactions13 Catalytic Asymmetric Aziridination of Alkenes14 Catalytic Asymmetric Hydrogenation of Prochiral Ketones and Imines15 Catalytic Asymmetric Aldol Reactions16 Catalytic Asymmetric Opening of Small Ring Systems16.1 Desymmetrization of meso-Epoxides and meso-Aziridines16.2 Kinetic Resolution of Racemic Epoxides16.3 Enantioselective Addition of CO2 to Epoxides16.4 Enantioselective Ring Opening of Oxetanes17 Catalytic Asymmetric Strecker Reactions18 Catalytic Asymmetric Mannich Reactions19 Catalytic Asymmetric Henry and Aza-Henry Reactions20 Catalytic Asymmetric Morita–Baylis–Hillman and Rauhut–Currier Reactions21 Catalytic Asymmetric Petasis Reactions22 Organocatalytic Asymmetric Cascade Reactions23 Miscellaneous Catalytic Reactions24 Conclusion and Outlook25 DACH Catalysts and Ligands List

A Review on the Development of Polymer Supported Heterogeneous Palladium Materials for Organic Synthesis and Electrochemical Applications

Abstract:: This comprehensive review explores the advancements in catalytic transformation, focusing on the use of heterogeneous catalytic systems with a particular emphasis on polymeric-supported palladium (Pd) complexes. This study explores the limitations associated with conventional homogeneous reagents, emphasizes the transition to eco-friendly catalytic systems, and emphasizes the importance of Pd nanoparticles. These nanoparticles are particularly noteworthy for their distinctive properties, including elevated catalytic activity, making them promising for various applications in organic synthesis. The review thoroughly examines the design and synthesis of heterogeneous catalysts, emphasizing the crucial selection of safe and recyclable supports to augment the longevity and reusability of metallic catalysts. Diverse polymer varieties, including polystyrene (PS), polyethylene (PE), polyacrylate derivatives, polyethylene glycol (PEG), and grafted polymers, are investigated as viable supports for Pd complexes. The authors intricately describe the synthesis techniques for these polymer-supported Pd catalysts and furnish illustrative examples showcasing their effectiveness in organic transformation. This comprehensive review additionally highlights the synthesis of polymer-supported palladium (Pd) materials and discusses their applications in electrochemistry. The focus extends to the electrocatalytic properties of Pdbased polymeric nanomaterials, showcasing their effectiveness in glucose sensing, hydrogen peroxide detection, and the sensing of other biological analytes. Furthermore, the catalytic capabilities of Pd nanoparticles in various electrochemical applications, including wastewater treatment and electrochemical capacitors, are explored. Integrating polymer-supported Pd materials into these electrochemical processes underscores their versatility and potential contributions to advancements in catalysis and electrochemical sensing. Catalytic applications featuring polymer-supported palladium complexes with polymeric ligands in organic synthesis processes use the Sonogashira reaction, Suzuki-Miyaura coupling, Heck reaction, Catalytic asymmetric transformations, etc. The subsequent section of the paper focuses on the creation of polymeric palladium complexes, achieved by the complexation of polymeric ligands with palladium precursors. It delves into noteworthy examples of catalytic processes employing polymer-supported palladium complexes featuring polymeric ligands, emphasizing distinct polymers, such as PS, PE, polyacrylate derivatives, PEG, and grafting polymers. The review concludes by exploring catalytic asymmetric transformations using chiral palladium complexes immobilized on polymer supports and discusses various chiral ligands and their immobilization on polymer supports, emphasizing their application in asymmetric allylic alkylation. The review furnishes a comprehensive summary of recent advancements, challenges, and prospective avenues in catalytic oxidation facilitated by polymer- supported palladium catalysts with electrochemical applications.

Unlocking the Potential of Oxidative Asymmetric Catalysis with Continuous Flow Electrochemistry.

In the field of catalytic asymmetric synthesis, the less-treated path lies in oxidative catalytic asymmetric transformations. The hurdles of pinpointing the appropriate chemical oxidants and addressing their compatibility issues with catalysts and functionalities present significant challenges. Organic electrochemistry, employing traceless electrons for redox reactions, is underscored as a promising solution. However, the commonly used electrolysis in batch cells introduces its own set of challenges, hindering the advancement of electrochemical asymmetric catalysis. Here we introduce a microfluidic electrochemistry platform with single-pass continuous flow reactors that exhibits a wide-ranging applicability to various oxidative asymmetric catalytic transformations. This is exemplified through the sulfenylation of 1,3-dicarbonyls, dehydrogenative C-C coupling, and dehydrogenative alkene annulation processes. The unique properties of microfluidic electrochemical reactors not only eliminate the need for chemical oxidants but also enhance reaction efficiency and reduce the use of additives and electrolytes. These salient features of microfluidic electrochemistry expedite the discovery and development of oxidative asymmetric transformations. In addition, the continuous production facilitated by parallel single-pass reactors ensures straightforward reaction upscaling, removing the necessity for reoptimization across various scales, as evidenced by direct translation from milligram screening to hectogram asymmetric synthesis.

Catalytic Asymmetric Ring Opening Reactions of Vinylcyclopropanes

AbstractVinylcyclopropanes (VCPs) are important building blocks with multifaceted reactivity. Catalytic asymmetric ring opening of vinylcyclopropanes is a highly efficient process to access valuable chiral molecules with diverse functionalities that can be further functionalized for a series of synthetic purposes. VCPs are very well‐known substrates for cycloaddition reactions and this chemistry has been widely explored. On the contrary, despite of enormous synthetic potential, development of new innovative strategies for the catalytic, asymmetric ring opening of VCPs is somewhat underdeveloped. Recently, several significant examples have emerged in the literature for various asymmetric ring opening of both activated and unactivated vinylcyclopropanes that involve transition metal catalysis. These developments are relevant additions to the vinylcyclopropane chemistry. In this review, we aim to summarize all the catalytic asymmetric ring opening transformations reported till date and provide a comprehensive analysis of these research outcomes.

Catalytic asymmetric construction of helicenes via transformation of biaryls.

This review showcases a systematic overview of the available tools for the catalytic asymmetric transformation of biaryl substrates toward the construction of challenging enantioenriched helicenes and the conceptual aspects associated with each type of transformation. Depending on the properties of the biaryl and the nature of the process, several methodologies have been developed, including olefin metathesis, hydroarylation of alkynes, C-X (X = C, O, N) coupling, and C-H functionalization. Pioneering studies and an array of representative reactions are discussed to underscore the potential of these synthetic protocols.

Catalytic Asymmetric Synthesis of Atropisomers Bearing Multiple Chiral Elements: An Emerging Field

AbstractWith the rapid development of asymmetric catalysis, the demand for the enantioselective synthesis of complex and diverse molecules with different chiral elements is increasing. Owing to the unique features of atropisomerism, the catalytic asymmetric synthesis of atropisomers has attracted a considerable interest from the chemical science community. In particular, introducing additional chiral elements, such as carbon centered chirality, heteroatomic chirality, planar chirality, and helical chirality, into atropisomers provides an opportunity to incorporate new properties into axially chiral compounds, thus expanding the potential applications of atropisomers. Thus, it is important to perform catalytic asymmetric transformations to synthesize atropisomers bearing multiple chiral elements. In spite of challenges in such transformations, in recent years, chemists have devised powerful strategies under asymmetric organocatalysis or metal catalysis, synthesizing a wide range of enantioenriched atropisomers bearing multiple chiral elements. Therefore, the catalytic asymmetric synthesis of atropisomers bearing multiple chiral elements has become an emerging field. This review summarizes the rapid progress in this field and indicates challenges, thereby promoting this field to a new horizon.

Catalytic Asymmetric Synthesis of Atropisomers Bearing Multiple Chiral Elements: An Emerging Field.

With the rapid development of asymmetric catalysis, the demand for the enantioselective synthesis of complex and diverse molecules with different chiral elements is increasing. Owing to the unique features of atropisomerism, the catalytic asymmetric synthesis of atropisomers has attracted a considerable interest from the chemical science community. In particular, introducing additional chiral elements, such as carbon centered chirality, heteroatomic chirality, planar chirality, and helical chirality, into atropisomers provides an opportunity to incorporate new properties into axially chiral compounds, thus expanding the potential applications of atropisomers. Thus, it is important to perform catalytic asymmetric transformations to synthesize atropisomers bearing multiple chiral elements. In spite of challenges in such transformations, in recent years, chemists have devised powerful strategies under asymmetric organocatalysis or metal catalysis, synthesizing a wide range of enantioenriched atropisomers bearing multiple chiral elements. Therefore, the catalytic asymmetric synthesis of atropisomers bearing multiple chiral elements has become an emerging field. This review summarizes the rapid progress in this field and indicates challenges, thereby promoting this field to a new horizon.

Asymmetric Substitution by Alkynyl Copper Driven Dearomatization and Rearomatization.

Catalytic asymmetric transformations by dearomatization have developed into a widely applicable synthetic strategy, but heavily relied on the use of arenes bearing a heteroatom. In this case, the dearomatization is facilitated by the involvement of a p-orbital electron of the heteroatom. Different from the conventional substrate-dependent model, here we demonstrate that the activation by a d-orbital electron of the transition-metal center can serve as a driving force for dearomatization, and is applied to the development of a novel asymmetric alkynyl copper facilitated remote substitution reaction. A newly modified PyBox chiral ligand enables the construction of valuable diarylmethyl and triarylmethyl skeletons in high enantioselectivities. An unexpected tandem process involving sequential remote substitution/cyclization/1,5-H shift leads to the formation of the enantioenriched C-N axis. A gram-scale reaction and various downstream transformations highlight the robustness of this method and the potential transformations of the products. Preliminary mechanistic studies reveal a mononuclear Cu-catalyzed remote substitution process.

Construction of C-B axial chirality via dynamic kinetic asymmetric cross-coupling mediated by tetracoordinate boron.

Catalytic dynamic kinetic asymmetric transformation (DyKAT) provides a powerful tool to access chiral stereoisomers from racemic substrates. Such transformation has been widely employed on the construction of central chirality, however, the application in axial chirality remains underexplored because its equilibrium of substrate enantiomers is limited to five-membered metalacyclic intermediate. Here we report a tetracoordinate boron-directed dynamic kinetic asymmetric cross-coupling of racemic, configurationally stable 3-bromo-2,1-azaborines with boronic acid derivatives. A series of challenging C-B axially chiral compounds were prepared with generally good to excellent enantioselectivities. Moreover, this transformation can also be extended to prepare atropisomers bearing adjacent C-B and C-C diaxes with excellent diastereo- and enantio-control. The key to the success relies on the rational design of a reversible tetracoordinate boron intermediate, which is supported by theoretical calculations that dramatically reduces the rotational barrier of the original C-B axis and achieves the goal of DyKAT.

Catalytic asymmetric silicon-carbon bond-forming transformations based on Si-H functionalization

In view of the exciting advancement on silicon-carbon bond-forming transformations achieved in the past decade, this review intends to show a unified illustration of the recent findings on enantioselective Si-H bond functionalization aided by asymmetric catalysis. Accordingly, this review describes the enantioselective silicon-carbon bond-forming Si-H bond functionalization, focusing on the reactivity and stereoselectivity in catalytic asymmetric hydrosilylation, carbene Si-H insertion, Si-H silylation, and Si-C bond-forming cross-coupling reactions that were achieved with high enantioselectivity in the presence of transition-metal catalyst systems. This review highlights recent and representative examples of the enantioselective Si-H bond functionalization, discusses the origins of silicon-involving stereoselectivities, and evaluates the substrate scopes and limitations in these catalytic asymmetric Si-H bond functionalization reactions due to the special reactivity of different hydrosilanes.

Enantioselective transformations of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural via catalytic asymmetric 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of azomethine ylides.

A catalytic asymmetric 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition between iminoesters derived from 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) and different activated alkenes is reported. Excellent levels of diastereo and enantioselectivity were obtained when Fesulphos/CuI complex was used as catalyst. This metodology provides an effective and sustainable access to challenging enantioenriched heterocyclic scaffolds and represents one of the rare examples of catalytic asymmetric transformations using HMF as a starting material.

Design and Synthesis of a Ferrocene-Based Diol Library and Application in the Hetero-Diels-Alder Reaction.

Diol scaffolds have been utilized as highly effective catalysts and ligands in a wide range of catalytic asymmetric transformations. For scaffolds to be successful as broadly used motifs, they should be prepared cheaply through facile routes and be easily handled. Herein, the synthesis of a family of planar chiral diols based on a modular and robust three-step route is described, which yields catalytically active diols in >99 % de and >99 % ee, with up to seven different chiral elements. These diols have been characterized by X-ray crystallographic analysis, which provides clear evidence for the likely transition state when applied in the asymmetric hetero-Diels-Alder reaction. Without altering the stereochemistry of the catalyst backbone, it is possible to access both enantiomers of the product by varying the substitution of the catalyst at the α-position.

Enantioselective Radical Addition to Ketones through Lewis Acid-Enabled Photoredox Catalysis.

Photocatalysis opens up a new window for carbonyl chemistry. Despite a multitude of photochemical reactions of carbonyl compounds, visible light-induced catalytic asymmetric transformations remain elusive and pose a formidable challenge. Accordingly, the development of simple, efficient, and economic catalytic systems is the ideal pursuit for chemists. Herein, we report an enantioselective radical photoaddition to ketones through a Lewis acid-enabled photoredox catalysis wherein the in situ formed chiral N,N'-dioxide/Sc(III)-ketone complex serves as a temporary photocatalyst to trigger single-electron transfer oxidation of silanes for the generation of nucleophilic radical species, including primary, secondary, and tertiary alkyl radicals, giving various enantioenriched aza-heterocycle-based tertiary alcohols in good to excellent yields and enantioselectivities. The results of electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and high-resolution mass spectrum (HRMS) measurements provided favorable evidence for the stereocontrolled radical addition process involved in this reaction.

Amines as Catalysts: Dynamic Features and Kinetic Control of Catalytic Asymmetric Chemical Transformations to Form C-C Bonds and Complex Molecules.

Carbonyl transformations involving enolates and/or enamines have been used for various types of bond-forming reactions. In this account, catalysts and catalyst systems that have amino acids or primary, secondary, and/or tertiary amines as key catalytic functional groups that we have developed to accelerate chemical transformations, including regio-, diastereo- and enantioselective reactions, are discussed. Our chemical transformation strategies and methods that use amine derivatives as catalysts are also discussed. As amines can have different functions depending on protonation and on the species formed during the catalysis (such as enamines and iminium ions), dynamics and kinetic controls are the keys for understanding the catalysis. Further, strategies that harness dynamic steps and kinetic control in amine-catalyzed reactions have enabled the synthesis of complex molecules in stereocontrolled manners. Understanding the dynamic features and the kinetic controls of the catalysis will further the design of the catalysts and the development of chemical transformation strategies and methods.

Recent advances in gold-complex and chiral organocatalyst cooperative catalysis for asymmetric alkyne functionalization

Homogeneous gold catalysis has demonstrated the preponderant capability of realizing a broad range of synthetically versatile alkyne functionalization over the last two decades. Though catalytic asymmetric alkyne transformation has focused on the principle of using gold catalysts either associated with chiral phosphine ligand or combined with chiral counterion, a variety of breakthroughs have been reported with the application of gold-complex and chiral organocatalyst cooperative catalysis strategy, which could enable the challenging transformations that cannot be realized by mono-catalysis with excellent stereoselectivity. This review will cover two general protocols in this field, including relay catalysis and synergistic catalysis, with emphasis on the detailed cooperative catalysts models to illustrate the roles of the two catalysts and highlight the potential synthetic opportunities offered by asymmetric cooperative catalysis.

Machine learning studies on asymmetric relay Heck reaction-Potential avenues for reaction development.

The integration of machine learning (ML) methods into chemical catalysis is evolving as a new paradigm for cost and time economic reaction development in recent times. Although there have been several successful applications of ML in catalysis, the prediction of enantioselectivity (ee) remains challenging. Herein, we describe a ML workflow to predict ee of an important class of catalytic asymmetric transformation, namely, the relay Heck (RH) reaction. A random forest ML model, built using quantum chemically derived mechanistically relevant physical organic descriptors as features, is found to predict the ee remarkably well with a low root mean square error of 8.0 ± 1.3. Importantly, the model is effective in predicting the unseen variants of an asymmetric RH reaction. Furthermore, we predicted the ee for thousands of unexplored complementary reactions, including those leading to a good number of bioactive frameworks, by engaging different combinations of catalysts and substrates drawn from the original dataset. Our ML model developed on the available examples would be able to assist in exploiting the fuller potential of asymmetric RH reactions through a priori predictions before the actual experimentation, which would thus help surpass the trial and error loop to a larger degree.

Swollen-induced in-situ encapsulation of chiral silver catalysts in cross-linked polysiloxane elastomers: Homogeneous reaction and heterogeneous separation

The immobilization of molecular catalysts to fabricate heterogeneous catalysts for catalytic asymmetric transformations is extremely important and has attracted great attentions. Herein we developed a simple and new strategy for the heterogenization of homogeneous molecular complexes into the cross-linked polymer. It is demonstrated for the first time that the cross-linked polysiloxane elastomers can be applied for the swollen-induced in-situ encapsulation of homogeneous catalysts with or without chiral ligands. The swollen-induced in-situ encapsulation of silver catalyst system in the cross-linked polysiloxane elastomers led to the formation of silicone rubber-based hierarchically porous that could be used in asymmetric [3+2] cycloaddition, asymmetric tandem conjugate addition−elimination reaction and oxidation of hydrosilanes to silanols. The swollen-induced in-situ encapsulation of chiral silver complex in the cross-linked polysiloxane elastomers was proved to be easily recycled by filtration or pick-up and reused by several times. The simplest heterogeneous catalysis by the strategy of swollen-induced in-situ encapsulation can be extended to the encapsulation of chiral metal catalysts into different polymeric materials for the heterogenization of homogeneous catalysis.

Catalytic asymmetric transformations of oxa- and azabicyclic alkenes.

Oxa- and azabicyclic alkenes can be readily activated by transition-metal complexes with facial selectivity, because of the intrinsic reactivity of strained bicyclic structures. Synthetically, these compounds are important synthons that offer an important platform for the construction of biologically/medicinally significant compounds with two or more stereocenters. This Review comprehensively compiles the diverse catalytic processes involving the enantioselective transformations of oxa- and azabicyclic alkenes. It has been organized according to reaction type, including asymmetric ring opening (ARO) reactions, hydrofunctionalizations, cycloadditions and C-H activation reactions. The ARO section has been subdivided based on the type of nucleophiles employed, and further subdivided based on the metal used, with a separate topic dedicated to asymmetric ring-opening metathesis. Lastly, the presentation of each method/group of reactions is accompanied by concise discussions on their advantages and limitations.